


Playing with Fire

by arlathann



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-24
Updated: 2020-01-24
Packaged: 2021-02-27 14:00:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22388344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arlathann/pseuds/arlathann
Summary: The Storm Coast lives up to its name as Meiri Lavellan tells an embarrassing story from her past to Solas.
Relationships: Female Lavellan/Solas
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Playing with Fire

The Storm Coast - the name was pretty self-explanatory, although it still didn’t seem to describe the location clearly enough. Perhaps someone more familiar with the place would give it less credit, but not the Inquisitor and her companions who foolishly expected, well, less rain, despite this not being their trip in the area. Their optimistic expectations soon were shattered, as the party of four had to seek refuge from the downpour in a rocky cave nested in the cliff. The two elves, human, and dwarf didn’t feel too happy about their, quite frankly, predictable situation. Soaked to the bone and shaking from cold, they couldn’t even build a fire as the cave didn’t provide anything that could be used as fuel. Even their spare clothes weren’t fit to be used as kindling in a fit of desperation, as all the contents of their packs were just as wet as their owners. All things considered, it could have been worse. This cave, at least, wasn’t occupied by giant spiders.

Now, Meiri Lavellan was standing by the exit of the cave and staring at the sky, silently pleading it to show mercy, as she was trying to ignore the sound of her companions bickering a short distance behind her. What they were arguing about, the elf didn’t know as the sound of her chattering teeth drowned out their words. To be fair, it most likely wasn’t anything interesting or important anyway - Cassandra and Varric didn’t need much to jump at each other’s throats.

All the surrounding noises made Solas’s approach completely silent and Lavellan jumped slightly when the apostate appeared right next to her.

“Dammit, you startled me,” she cursed but without any actual grievance.

“Apologies.” Solas did not, in fact, look at all apologetic. He continued, sounding less smug this time: “You’re freezing. Why aren’t you using magic to warm up?”

“Yeah...,” Meiri began, somewhat sheepishly. “That’s not the best idea.”

“Why not? Surely you must know how to do that,” he inquired.

“In theory? Yes, I do. It’s the practical part of it that’s... problematic.”

“Is it something I could help with?”

“I... uh... I’m not sure.” If her face wasn’t already reddened from the rain and cold, she probably would have blushed in embarrassment.

“What is it? You can talk to me, vhenan.” Solas, to his credit, looked genuinely concerned.

Meiri groaned, knowing she didn’t have the capacity to hide anything from him. She wasn’t sure whether the worry written on his face or the term of endearment broke her resolve.

“It’s embarrassing...”

“I promise not to judge,” he said patiently.

Lavellan took a deep breath and started: “I was 9 years old when my magic manifested. The Keeper was relieved; our Clan didn’t have a First since my father died and I was the first mage born since then. She started training me immediately, both for my sake and for the safety of others, I assume. I was... eager to start my lessons, to say the least. Deshanna wanted me to start with the theory so I know what I’m doing. I went through the books quickly and I wanted to try and apply my knowledge in practice. The Keeper wanted me to start from very simple spells - freezing a puddle of water, making a wisp of wind carry a feather. But I was impatient and way too curious for my own good so I started experimenting on my own." Lavellan heaved a sigh.

“I suppose you can imagine how well it went. I tried to show off my new talent to my friends but instead of showing them what I’ve already learnt with the Keeper, I chose to try something more ‘impressive’. I was going to set a twig on fire but I guess I overestimated my ability to focus and I ended up lighting up a whole bush. Thankfully, Deshanna noticed the incident and put the fire down before it spread.” Lavellan stopped her story to asses Solas’s reaction. He looked mildly amused but seemed to have enough decency to keep to his promise of not judging.

“That is hardly a reason for embarrassment. You were only a child,” he said tactfully.

“That’s true... but it’s not all.” Solas raised his eyebrows, silently waiting for an explanation.

“I was... cautious with fire since that incident and I rarely used it, save for lighting up a candle or a bonfire. Not that I had much reason to use fire spells back then anyway. Until a few years back when I accidentally left my journal outside of the tent during rain. I was scared of losing all of my notes so I figured I can try drying the paper. The ink was most likely all smudged anyway but I had to try. Just a tiny bit of heat between my palms, it didn’t seem too complicated. Only, clearly, it was. I was nervous and I suppose I didn’t control the summoned heat well enough,” Lavellan looked at Solas to find him listening intently. Her next words were spoken quickly as she looked away, trying to avoid the other elf’s gaze.

“The journal burst in flames between my hands and it burnt off my eyebrows and some of my hair,” she closed her eyes to prepare for laughter, although she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t at all amused by her own story, or rather her incompetence. She opened her eyes but kept her gaze on the horizon, too embarrassed to look Solas in the eye. Uncomfortable with the silence, she started to ramble: “My eyebrows grew back soon enough, thankfully, but the sides of my head had to be shaved to hide the visual testimony of my failure. I kept it like this since; I suppose I grew to like it this way.”

When she heard no response, she finally looked at Solas to find him trying to hide his mirth behind his palm. Amusement wasn’t the only emotion that was visible on his face, however; there was something more behind his eyes, something tender and precious, a look reserved only for her.

“You weren’t supposed to judge me,” said Meiri accusingly. The accusation didn’t sound at all seriously as Lavellan sounded amused rather than offended.

“I did not!” he said, defending himself, laughter still clear in his voice. Trying to placate Meiri, Solas took both her hands in his, kissing her knuckles before he started warming them up with his magic.

“If I may point out, the way you choose to wear your hair rather suits you.”

“Are you trying to flatter me, Solas?” Lavellan sounded amused at the sudden change of topic.

“I am. Although I feel slightly offended you’d describe my efforts as ‘trying’.”

“Well, I won’t lie, you could do with a little practice,” she said playfully.

”I shall flatter you more often then. Just for the sake of practice, of course.”

“Of course,” she agreed, with an affectionate smile.

They settled into a comfortable silence interrupted only by the sound of rain and thunder.


End file.
